A nonequilibrium approach for random amphiphilic copolymer model

Abstract

We propose a self-consistent method for studying equilibrium and kinetics of a random copolymer model with a Gaussian distribution of quenched disorder characterized by a generic covariance matrix. The complete phase diagram of the model is obtained and it contains five different states separated by the collapse, glass, and folding “transitions.” We analyze the thermodynamic limit for the high-density collapsed globule that permits a simplified analytical study. We argue that the approach may be applied in a variety of situations including biopolymers, gels, and other soft random materials.